Ch.303. Message.

# 03. Message

The most easily obtainable tools in this world are none other than weapons like knives and guns.

In a frozen city with dwindling resources, people gathered in excessive numbers drew weapons to survive a little longer, to protect what was theirs.

At least outside, the endless snowfall covered the carnage, making the world seem peaceful.

But indoors, where snow couldn’t hide anything, places still preserved their old appearance even after all this time. The cold temperature prevented significant decomposition.

“Just wait a moment. I need to tidy up to sleep comfortably. I could sleep as is, but I might have bad dreams, you know?”

Whether it was someone who brought the lead grim reaper with their own finger…

Or someone who, unable to bear hunger, began eating their own body only to die of infection…

Or an entire family brutally murdered by intruders, with blood splattered across the entire room…

Forget peaceful lives—even hoping for a peaceful death was a luxury in this world.

In comparison, this person who ended their life by hanging themselves had achieved a relatively peaceful death.

It said everything that pamphlets detailing methods for ending one’s life painlessly were distributed throughout the city, created by someone unknown.

“People who wanted to live but were killed by strangers they never saw, and people who chose to end their lives out of exhaustion.”

Which lived a happier life? Which felt less miserable while dying?

Long ago, they said suicide was the most pitiful and tragic way to die, showing disregard for one’s own life.

The world should have developed to prevent such tragic deaths.

Yet this is how the world ended.

Truly, it couldn’t be more ironic.

I smiled bitterly as I lowered the hanging corpse and covered it with a blanket.

After taking the body down from the ceiling and wrapping it in a blanket, I found a broom and dustpan to clean up the dust, dead insects, and various bodily fluids that had soiled the floor.

It’s not really enough, but I’m not going to live here permanently. Just spending one night in the corner, so this should suffice.

“Phew. Finally, I can get some rest. I’d like to mop the floor too, but… I don’t have the energy for that.”

Today alone, I’ve been walking for over half a day. And through snow so deep that I had to lift my knees high with each step.

After wandering alone for so long, I’ve built up some muscle and stamina, but there are still limits.

Groaning, I removed my large bag and thick coat, placing them on the floor.

Immediately, the cold that had been blocked by my coat began to seep in.

“Ugh… it’s still cold in here, though not as bad as outside. Just wait a moment.”

Haa. Breathing out visible breath, I unzipped the bag I’d set down.

Various medical tools, hardware, canned food—things I’d collected wandering around the city.

I took out a fairly large heater that occupied significant space in my bag, placed it on the floor, and pressed a protruding button.

Though it wasn’t connected to electricity and had no opening for fuel, the heater began to emit a soft glow.

“Ahh, this is truly the happiest moment. You watching the video can’t feel it, but this room is already warm enough that I could be naked and comfortable. Not that I’m planning to strip down, of course.”

The sensation of my body gradually thawing after hours of walking through freezing streets spread throughout my body.

It was somewhat painful and tingly, but it felt good to feel alive.

There was good reason why the heater occupied so much space in my bag with its limited capacity for resources.

“It would be nice if I could use this indefinitely, but unfortunately, the light seems dimmer than before.”

But just as nothing lasts forever, this heater too was gradually approaching its end.

Though there was no direct indicator of its remaining lifespan, I could feel the light emitted from the heater diminishing slightly with each use.

“With my resources and knowledge, I have no way to fix or recharge this. It’s already disappointing to think about not being able to use it anymore.”

Despite becoming quite handy, as evidenced by fixing the Drone just by looking at the blueprints…

The machines of this era were often too intricate and complex to even dissect with mere handiness. I didn’t even know what it used as fuel or how it burned.

“Well, what can I do? I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. Dwelling on depressing thoughts about something that might happen someday only prevents you from enjoying what happiness you have now. Let’s focus on the present.”

My stomach had been growling for quite some time.

True to my words about focusing on the present, I rummaged through my bag and pulled out a tightly sealed can.

I placed the can on a tripod I’d taken from the Research Lab, lit an alcohol lamp with a gas torch, and set it beneath the can.

I could eat it cold, but melting it a little gives it more flavor on the tongue.

As for nutrition… I don’t know much about that, but surely eating warm food is better for the body.

…Though it’s nonsensical to worry about health benefits when eating food of unknown age.

“While the food cooks, let me record what happened today. Remember I said I’d show you the map?”

While the contents of the can heated, I took out a rolled bundle of paper and a stubby pencil to pass the time.

I spread out the map I had drawn on the floor so the Drone could see it.

“See? This is all the distance I’ve traveled so far. Most of the path I’ve walked since first opening my eyes in this world until this moment of showing you the map is drawn here.”

Given the heavy snowfall, I couldn’t draw on thin paper on the spot, and I couldn’t explore every building in the city alone, so the map is quite limited in scale.

Nevertheless, it’s my precious personal map recording the paths I’ve walked and the unusual or important buildings I’ve seen along the way.

“And now I’ll draw the path I walked today. I’ll also note that I fixed the Drone after a week. Saying it like this makes it sound more like a diary than a map. But whether it’s a diary or a map, what matters is recording my footsteps, so let’s not worry about such minor details.”

After all, walking through snow-covered streets, there’s nothing to do but talk to myself and look at the various buildings lining the roads.

And since each building is enormously large, I haven’t passed that many despite walking for hours.

So, recalling from memory, I draw normal buildings that aren’t particularly collapsed or distinctive as squares.

For buildings that are severely damaged with only frames remaining, or incomplete structures that resemble skeletons, I mark them with stars and brief descriptions.

For the starting and ending buildings of today’s recorded journey—including this current building—I draw circles to record how far I’ve walked and what happened.

Things like “Fixed the Drone and successfully connected to the network!” or “Found a nice place to sleep.”

“Honestly, since I’ve confirmed there’s no one here, even if I draw a map, I probably won’t need to return… but sometimes when I’m tired, looking at the map and seeing how far I’ve come gives me strength.”

Initially, I started drawing the map in case I needed to return somewhere without getting lost, but that purpose has long faded.

As I’m actively searching for survivors, there’s no reason for me to return to places where only corpses remain.

So the reason I draw the map now is, as I said earlier, to record today’s footsteps.

And to document that I survived another day safely.

And sometimes, when I feel like stopping from exhaustion, looking at the map reminds me that I’ve endured this long, so I can endure more.

“In a world like this, these are the only things I can focus on and do proactively. So I’m doing my best.”

While I talked and drew the map, a rather appetizing smell began wafting from the slightly opened can.

Smiling, I put the completed map back in my bag and opened the can’s lid fully.

“Hmm… the smell was promising, but the taste is rather bland. Salty… and more salty. If they were going to seal it perfectly anyway, they could have put in something tastier. That’s a bit disappointing.”

Even the grilled pineapple I found strange every time I ate it now seems nostalgic. If I had known I’d end up in a world like this, I wouldn’t have been picky about food…

“If anyone watching this video is thinking of making canned food or similar preserved foods, please, I beg you, use ingredients that taste good and can be eaten pleasantly…”

After drawing the map and emptying the overly salty can, I filled my empty water bottle with melted snow I’d collected outside.

After that, I continued talking to the Drone until the outside was completely dark and my physical energy was depleted.

“……”

At the same time, the excitement I’d naturally felt while fixing the Drone subsided.

Sleeping in the same room as someone who ended their life after receiving no help and having nothing to eat.

Perhaps because of the situation, or as a reaction to being excited for so long…

When my eyes met my strange, refracted reflection in the black lens, I suddenly felt drained.

“Haha….”

What am I doing?

Talking about “if” and “someday” and hopeful futures, when I know better than anyone that such hopes can’t come to this world.

No matter how much I talk, the possibility that no one will ever see this video, no matter how far I go or how much time passes, is several times greater than the possibility of finding survivors.

Although I’m connected to the network… realistically thinking, I’m probably just connected to servers or machines barely maintained by backup power.

Above all, I’ve been talking and sending video all day, and there’s been no response.

Even if I can’t receive voice or video, I should at least get some indication that someone is watching my video.

What am I doing? Just wasting precious energy.

“…I’ll stop here for today. Tomorrow… I don’t know. Anyway, I hope to see you again. Good night.”

Like a parasite that’s entered the body. Like mold that’s seeped into the wall.

The sunken feeling began rapidly eating away at my mind.

Knowing nothing good would come from staying in this state, I turned off the Drone and immediately curled up using my outer clothes as a blanket, closing my eyes.

The next day.

There was no special change.

The world was still white, and I was still alone.

The only difference was the temperature of the room, which had grown cold after the heater turned off.

My mood hadn’t improved at all.

“I shouldn’t have fixed it.”

I fixed it hoping to alleviate some loneliness while wandering this empty world, but instead, it only made me acutely aware of how alone I really am.

Despair and hope are always connected like two sides of a coin.

The problem is that whenever I toss the coin, it always lands with despair facing up, like buttered bread that always falls butter-side down.

Damn it, I’ll leave it here.

As I cursed inwardly and reached out to disassemble it for motors or batteries that might be useful later…

-Message received from *~~~~~~*. Would you like to check it?

“…What?”

Words I hadn’t even dared to hope for flowed out.

The first part was garbled like when I first mentioned connecting to the network, but the important part was the latter content.

A received message? Someone saw my video?

With trembling hands, I pressed the confirm button on the Controller.

For a moment, I hoped this wasn’t another trap to plunge me into despair.

A translucent blue window appeared above the Controller.

[What is this video? Does anyone know what this is about?]

[Movie filming?]

[Wow, it seems like people from all over the world are gathered here ww]

[What is this and why is it in my algorithm?]

“Oh my God.”

What am I looking at right now?

Words and languages long forgotten from memory and history.

They were speaking to me within this translucent window.

* * *

On an ordinary day in the 21st century…

At the top of what could arguably be called the world’s most influential video site.

A strange livestream appeared—with no channel name, no title, not even a broadcast date or time.